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im worried that this area in particular our ruck combo is not going to allow us to win a GF
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"be tough, only when it gets tough"
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Pyke looks cooked and Tip has been inconsistent all year. -
It's the price we paid for getting Buddy - with our list we've had to be spread thin somewhere, and we've decided that the ruck is one area that we could make do with limited resources.
Pykey is doing well considering, and Tippett's looked pretty good at times. I'd like to see us getting a few more games into Naismith at some stage too - this week would be a good opportunity.Comment
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bring back mummy
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Tippett (109 hit outs) and Pyke (261) have more hit outs between them than the top 2 ruckmen combo of any other club. Only 5 players on the comp have had first hand on the ball more than Pyke and none of them have a deputy getting it anywhere near as much as Tippo.Comment
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What are their hit out to advantage numbers like compared with others?
I've always thought the way we structure around the clearance was more important than the hit outs. Sam Mitchell got far too much free space in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.Comment
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The totals are irrelevant, it's the effectives that counts. The game against Hawthorn was a perfect example of a poor ruck work. If it wasn't for our brilliant defence we would have been gone by the 3/4 time.Comment
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Adelaide, Hawthorn and Freo are the top 3 in clearance differential. We are ranked 8th. I think this is poor given that we've got some of the best clearance mids in the comp. We are doing roughly the same as last year and better than 2012. Also doing better than GWS even though they have Mummy.
I don't know what all this means, because the clearances result from a combination of a number of factors, of course the ruckmen being probably the most important. It certainly hurt us against Hawthorn. You would think we would do better given that Pyke is a good tap ruckman and we have a strong on ball brigade. Perhaps it's our stoppage tactics.
Tippett is one of the best Ruck-Forwards in the league in that he can do both jobs reasonably well (forget the salary complaints). I think we are getting hurt by the lack of contribution from Pyke around the ground. He's not marking the ball much this year and certainly isn't kicking goals. He's giving away frees at a record rate. Given his mediocre performance this year, it would seem reasonable to give Naismith a go for next couple of games against Carton and GC.Comment
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Think Pykes just knackered ?Comment
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The thing that saves us in terms of clearances is just how good our back 6 works as a defensive unit. We can win games (famously the 2012 GF and Saturday night) conceding plenty of clearances and plenty of additional I50s, because more often than not, our back 6 get the job done. We get frustrated by their brain farts, and stupid decision making with the ball in hand at times, but as a back 6, they are up there with the best in the competition.
I actually think Tippett has done a really good job for us in the ruck as a back up ruckman this year. He is actually surprisingly nimble at the ruck contest - he made a couple of very telling clearances in the GWS in particular at critical times. As you say Ludwig, its Pykey around the ground that is really hurting us. He still is bobbing up for some good marks here and there, but he gets very little of the footy around the ground, and his disposal isn't much use these days, for as you say he isn't kicking goals. But he is good at getting around the ground to fill the gaps, and has played a useful role sitting in front of the defence at different stages (Which isn't necessarily reflected in any stats, but obvious when sitting up high at the ground).
The free kicks are an odd one - he seems to be really getting singled out by Umps for doing things that just about every other ruckman do week in week out as well. Maybe he just isn't good enough at covering his tracks or is too obvious in his approach.
I'm all for Naismith getting some more exposure - but from what I've seen, he is progressing well in the Ressies. Maybe give him a game this Friday against Carlton and give Pykey or Tippo a rest. If things keep going well, we can hopefully give him a few more games later in the year. But, if we are going to win the flag in 2015, its going to be with Pyke and Tippett in there - despite Naismith clearly progressing as a ruckman, he is not ready for week in, week out grind of AFL footy, let alone the pressure of the biggest games at the end of the year. He'll only be there if there are injuries preventing us playing Pyke and Tippett, in my book. That isn't to say he is a dud - I think he is going to make a very decent AFL footballer, and I like how good he is below his knees as well when the ball hits the deck."You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."Comment
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I'm starting to come across to the ruckman being worth a lot less than generally thought.
Replaced with a tallish (able to get close to the ball in the ruck) player who is fit and able to play as a midfielder gives us so much more run through the middle.
I would like to see this tested by some team one day.The difference between insanity and genius is measured only in success.Comment
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This has been tested many times, with usually good results.
The one I remember was in our 2012 premiership season St Kilda were forced to go with 189cm Jason Blake as their primary ruckman against our Mike Pyke. Blake killed us in the ruck, winning the hitouts against Pyke 31-29. We got smashed 111-83.
If you can get a ruckman like Goldstein or Jacobs, who can add value around the ground as well as ruck, then it's probably the best solution. I wouldn't surmise that Pyke is better than Naismith even right now without seeing what Naismith can do.Comment
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